Book Review: Midnight Kiss by Farahilda Winters (Bloodlines of Love Book 1)

 Genre: Paranormal Romance

Tropes: Vampires, Fated Mates, Forbidden Romance, Ancient Artifact, Librarian FMC, Dark Protector MMC, Love Triangle (Resolved), Hidden Supernatural World

Spice Level: 🌶🌶 – Moderate, more romantic tension than spice

Format: eBook

Series: Bloodlines of Love Book 1(Ends on a cliffhanger)

Emily has spent years dreaming about vampires—but when a blood-stained journal belonging to a French nobleman is brought into the rare books section at her job, fascination quickly turns into obsession. The journal is filled with vampire lore, and Emily feels an almost unnatural possessiveness over it. When she’s chased out of work by a mysterious man and nearly attacked outside her home, she’s saved by Alex—and her quiet life changes overnight.

As Emily is pulled deeper into a dangerous supernatural world and an intense new romance begins, her health starts to decline. The deeper she goes, the clearer it becomes that the journal, the vampires, and her own fate are deeply intertwined.

I don’t remember exactly where I discovered this book—likely through Kindle Unlimited suggestions or a Facebook ad while actively ignoring my TBR—but I enjoyed it from start to finish. While it does end on a cliffhanger, it has strong fated mates and forbidden romance vibes that kept me invested. The MMC, Alex, is positioned as one of the “heroes” within the vampire sect, though there’s no denying he has plenty of blood on his hands. Emily, meanwhile, is a librarian who’s also writing a vampire romance novel, which added a fun meta layer to the story.

There are technically two male love interests, though choices are made—and I agreed with them. There may be other options (that Emily does NOT get a choice in), but those are less about romance and more about using Emily to gain power. You’ll understand as the story unfolds. While there weren’t many major shock moments, most developments were fairly predictable, that didn’t take away from my enjoyment at all.

I’ll likely continue this series to see where Alex and Emily’s story goes next.

📚 Availability:

Available on Kindle Unlimited, or purchase on Amazon for $3.99 by clicking here. 

⭐ You’ll like this book if you enjoy:

Vampire paranormal romance

Librarian heroines

Fated mates and forbidden love

Ancient books and supernatural artifacts

Low-angst, plot-driven romance

Series starters with cliffhangers

Book Review: All Jobs and Classes! I Just Wanted One Skill, Not Them All! Book 1 by Comedian0 L

 

 Genre: LitRPG / Fantasy

Tropes: Reincarnation, System-Based Progression, Child Prodigy, Power Leveling, Skill Collection, Dungeon/Labyrinth Crawling, Found Family (Light), Slow-Burn Worldbuilding

Spice Level: None

Format: eBook

Series: All Jobs and Classes Book 1 (Ends on a cliffhanger)

After dying, Ludger is reborn into a quiet, rural life—with a system no one else seems to have. He retains all memories from his past life and begins leveling up at an unusually young age. Determined to build a stable future for himself and his mother without drawing dangerous attention, Ludger focuses on controlled growth, careful planning, and skill acquisition. What could possibly go wrong?

I strongly suspect this book is at least AI-assisted, if not fully AI-written. There really should be clearer disclaimers for AI-generated books. While it could be poor writing, the inconsistencies push me toward the AI explanation. The title itself is misleading—it implies Ludger doesn’t want to collect every class, yet throughout this nearly 800-page book, he repeatedly seeks out new masters specifically to gain more skills and abilities.

Taken in broad strokes, the story is decent. A man dies in his twenties and is reincarnated into a world filled with labyrinths (their term for dungeons), fantastical creatures, and no modern conveniences. He keeps his memories and gains a passive leveling system that activates whenever he’s taught by someone skilled. Determined to make this life better than his last, Ludger devotes himself to leveling every skill he can find. The premise works—but the execution makes it a difficult read.

The biggest issue is consistency. Errors repeatedly pulled me out of the story—most notably Viola’s grandfather being incorrectly referred to as Ludger’s grandfather multiple times, despite them not being related at all. These kinds of mistakes add up and seriously hurt immersion.

⚠️ Spoiler Warning:

The book ends on a clear cliffhanger, with Ludger (now 7) and his half-sister Viola (12) walking into a battlefield camp, where they’re confronted by her grandfather and their father. I don’t personally feel this ruins the story, but I’m flagging it just in case.

If this book were rewritten—by a human—I’d be more than willing to continue the series. As it stands, I don’t plan to read further.

📚 Availability:

Available on Kindle Unlimited, or purchase on Amazon for $3.99 by clicking here. 

⭐ You’ll like this book if you enjoy:

LitRPG or Isekai with system-based leveling

Reincarnation stories with child protagonists

Skill collection and power progression

Dungeon/Labyrinth fantasy settings

Long-form worldbuilding (800+ pages)

⭐ You may want to skip this if you dislike:

Writing inconsistencies

Misleading titles

Suspected AI-assisted prose

Cliffhanger endings

Book Review: Wilde Sanctuary by Melanie Hepburn (Cape Wilde Book 1)

  Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tropes: Small-Town Romance, Hallmark Vibes, Workplace Romance, Opposites Attract, Hidden Identity, Forced Proximity, Family Approval, Curvy Girl Romance

Spice Level: 🌶 – Low spice (1 explicit scene)

Format: eBook

Series: Cape Wilde Book 1

Charlie has always wanted her father’s approval, but no one at his development company has ever viewed her as capable. When he finally gives her a chance to prove herself, the task is one he’s failed at for over a decade: securing a piece of land in Cape Wilde for development.

Before meeting the landowner, Charlie runs into the undeniably sexy Rhett—who makes her feel valued in ways that go far beyond the physical. Their connection is instant and genuine…until she discovers that Rhett is the owner of the very property she’s been sent to acquire. Suddenly, business and budding romance collide, and everything threatens to go up in flames.

This is a classic Hallmark-style romance: big-city developer heads to a charming small town, meets a swoony local, sparks fly, secrets come out, there’s a falling out, and love finds a way back. It’s sweet, cozy, and predictable in the best way. The spice level is low, with just one explicit scene.

That said, it was genuinely adorable, and Rhett was a standout for me. Even when he threw a bit of a mantrum and refused to listen, the conflict was handled lightly—mostly resolved through time jumps rather than prolonged angst.

The characters are cute and easy to root for. Although the title labels this as a curvy girl romance, there’s very little physical description of Charlie’s size throughout the book. She’s confident in her attractiveness and briefly questions whether she might be too heavy for Rhett, but beyond that, it’s largely left to the reader’s imagination.

📚 Availability:

Available on Amazon for $2.99 by clicking here.

⭐ You’ll like this book if you enjoy:

Cozy, Hallmark-style romances

Small-town settings

Low-angst love stories

Workplace and hidden-identity romance

Sweet reads with light spice

Book Review: Sold to the Fae by Kyra Alessy (The Dark Realms Book 1)

 Genre: Fantasy Romance

Tropes: Reverse Harem (Slow-Build), Enemies to Lovers, Fated Mates (Implied), Dark Academy, Abusive Authority Figure, Hidden Power, Bully Romance, Found Family (Developing)

Spice Level: 🌶🌶 – Explicit scenes, but not spice-heavy

Format: eBook

Series: The Dark Realms Book 1(Ends on a cliffhanger)

Lia was “saved” by a Fae ruler everyone believes to be kind and benevolent—but she knows the truth. After her powers awaken into something no one should ever wield, she is branded the Harbinger and isolated within the academy. Allowed to exist only within the classroom and never truly among her peers, Lia endures cruelty disguised as protection.

When she finally escapes—burning the academy behind her—she knows no one will ever believe her accusations against their beloved ruler. Now hiding within a walled city, hoping to disappear into obscurity, she’s discovered by none other than the Cunty Trio, and any hope of fading quietly into the background is gone.

I loved this book from start to finish, even though it does end on a cliffhanger. The story slowly reveals Lia’s abilities and past, giving us enough from Chapter 1 to understand her trauma while still holding back deeper truths. The trio are firmly in enemy territory at this point. This feels like a fated-mates, enemies-to-lovers story in the making—but it hasn’t fully unfolded yet.

This is clearly a reverse harem (or strongly building toward one), though the spice is minimal so far. There are only a handful of orgasms and a single sex scene at this stage. The explicit moments are well written, just not the focus—yet. I’m very curious to see where the series goes next, especially after how this book ends.

⚠️ Content Warnings:

This book contains bullying and mild torture by enemies/authority figures. If those themes are not something you’re comfortable with, consider this your warning.

📚 Availability:

Available on Kindle Unlimited, or purchase on Amazon for $4.99 by clicking here

⭐ You’ll like this book if you enjoy:

Dark fantasy romance with academy settings

Reverse harem / Why Choose (slow build)

Enemies-to-lovers with real hostility

FMCs with dangerous, forbidden power

Bully romance elements